Quilly

Hi Everyone, I see a lot of old fender basses on this site for sale for lots and lots of money. Why are they commanding such high prices? are they THAT much better than their modern counterparts?

I’m running an 8ohm head into a 4ohm cab...not ideal I guess but so far no fires . But this is my practice amp so I’m not pushing it hard. I understand it’s better to have too low (as far as 1/2) than to high for valves ?

The Barefaced ‘10’ series works great with valve amps . I use a two10 with my Ashdown ctm100 , sounds sweet...as for tips ? Well I usually keep the gain around 9-10 o clock and crank the master up to 3 o clock . It’s a lovely clean warm sound . It’s just 100w but the thing about valve amps is they sound better under pressure..if you really want some fun go out and get a Low wattage valve amp like 20-50w . Old guitar valve amps work really well . I have a 50w old Carslbro guitar amp that sounds sublime with a bass (just make sure you use a bass cab or else...pop)

Well I was only able to try it out in the store but it sounded p bassey to me 😂. No seriously, it seemed to have lots of warm thump , pickups very hot in the midrange and low end. Not as bright or as ‘Kim Deal’ as my sandberg California (in passive mode) but that just could be the amp set up, cabinet , strings etc. Neck didn’t seem as chunky as other p basses I’ve played, really really comfortable . The finger board had a nice glosssy finish while the back of the neck had a really smooth satin finish . Tuning heads and hardware etc all seemed solid .

Absolutely no reason to be forking out for a US fender with these on the market. I’ve owned a few us one in the past , these are nicer

If it’s anything like what I played today I strongly recommend one.

Played a MIM p bass at a music store today (player series, mable neck). I am VERY impressed. . Gorgeous neck, great punchy tone , excellent finish and build quality throughout. They’ve really come on IMO.

I see loads of ads for 'nearly new' or 'never gigged' equipment on various sites, GAS and subsequent buyers remorse I reckon.

I found out that if an amp is a quality amp, it’s a quality amp, regardless of if its all valve , AB solid state , class D or hybrid. The most enjoyable and fun to play through though is a low wattage all valve amp ...hands down . Esp with EL34s ! But KT88s probably more practical for low end power.

Apparently British valve amps that use British valves produce a more warm 'scooped;' tone and American Valves are supposed to be 'flatter' with more midrange. It would be interesting to swap out the EL84s for say, a 6BQ5 or other American variant and assess the difference. (of course you would have to talk to an amp tech to avoid unwanted fires.

I recently relieved a guitarist of an unused 50W late 90s Carsbro 50 top guitar head for a bag of beans, got new tubes and a basic service. I coupled it with a barefaced two10 and I was blown away by the sound of it. Much more attack than a standard bass amp and I can get a pretty decent low end from it (if I crank the bass all the way). The added bonus is that it has a 'dirty' channel that has the best OD tone I've ever heard on a bass.

You're a brave man to dep in with a 30W head. 😂.

If you like that sound it should be fine for what you need it for...the cab efficiency is a critical parameter.

I think my CTM-100 would perform better through a good 410. I'm currently using a barefaced 210 with it and its 'loud enough' . When I play with me TE-500 the 210 is ample but again...its a different sound. I like the difference.

Valve amps have to be pushed a bit ... that’s why the ctm-30 sounds so good

Yes playing a 300w valve monster at low levels is no fun .

I read on another thread the CTM-300 was discontinued?

I wonder why Ashdown never made a 200w valve head to compete with orange AD200b, it seems like the perfect power rating for a valve amp

https://reverb.com/item/18725709-ashdown-427-small-block?utm_source=ios-app&utm_medium=share

The trace is far more potent that the ctm 100, well it is 500w. I saw an Ashdown 427 small block for sake in reverb...they are beasts

The ctm 100, if you want real power go for an SVT

I play with a ctm100 and it’s loud ‘enough ‘ but not earth shatteringly loud . It doesn’t have tons of headroom either. I have a 500w AB MOSFET trace Elliot and it would eat it for breakfast

Yes 30w is 30w at the end of the day . It might sound as loud as a 100w class d amp . From experience 100w is probably the entry level for a useful amp for valves

The CTM-30 is a great sounding amp but I really recommend scouring the internet for a second hand CTM-100

If you had a really good efficient cabinet, like a barefaced two10, you might (just) get enough volume out of it . You’d really be surprised how loud they get